Food Drawer Sealing and Storage System

ABSTRACT

A drawer sealing system includes a drawer cabinet with a face formed with at least one drawer opening and a substantially flat wall surrounding the drawer opening. A drawer has a drawer face plate with a size to cover the entire drawer opening and the flat wall surrounding the drawer opening with its inner wall facing towards the drawer cabinet. A circumferential recess is formed in the inner wall of said drawer face plate, and a gasket is inserted in the recess. The gasket forms a circumferential sealing lip projecting from the inner wall. The recess and the gasket have an outline shape such that the sealing lip comes to lie on the flat wall surrounding the drawer opening when the drawer is closed and to form a closed face seal between the drawer face plate and the drawer cabinet.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority, under 35 U.S.C. §119(e), of my copending provisional patent applications No. 61/233,656 filed Aug. 13, 2009, and No. 61/241,569, filed Sep. 11, 2009; the earlier provisional applications are herewith incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The invention lies in the field of hospitality and restaurant service. More specifically, the invention pertains to food drawers, such as food refrigeration system drawers, and intermediate food storage systems in restaurants.

Especially restaurant kitchen environments require carefully controlled cleanliness. Collecting food particles and fluids often form beds for the growth of bacteria. This happens most often in areas that are not smooth and do not allow easy cleaning and disinfecting. Of particular interest in this context are food drawers in which food is intermediately stored by the kitchen personnel.

The food is intermediately stored in coolers or chillers. It is thus important that the food drawer is well sealed to avoid unnecessary energy losses and also to avoid premature spoilage.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a food drawer sealing and storage system, which overcomes various disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices and methods of this general type and which provides for limited soiling during regular use, easy cleaning, and easy replaceability of the sealing structures of the device.

With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a drawer sealing system, comprising:

a drawer cabinet having a face formed with at least one drawer opening and a substantially flat wall surrounding the drawer opening;

a drawer with a drawer face plate having a size sufficient to cover the entire the drawer opening in the face of the drawer cabinet and the flat wall surrounding the drawer opening, the drawer face plate having an inner wall facing towards the drawer cabinet;

a circumferential recess formed in the inner wall of the drawer face plate; and

a gasket formed for insertion into the recess in the inner wall and forming a circumferential sealing lip projecting from the inner wall, the recess and the gasket having an outline shape such that the sealing lip comes to lie on the flat wall surrounding the drawer opening when the drawer is closed and to form a closed face seal between the drawer face plate and the drawer cabinet.

In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the recess formed in the inner wall of the drawer face plate is a continuous track groove with a substantially rectangular cross section.

In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the gasket has an insertion base dimensioned for insertion into the track groove and a sealing lip projecting above a level of the inner wall of the drawer face plate. In a preferred embodiment, the gasket includes wings laterally adjoining the sealing lip and configured to abut flat and in a sealing manner against the inner wall of the drawer face plate, marginally outside the track groove.

In accordance with another feature of the invention, the drawer face plate is formed of stainless steel sheets and a foam-filled interior. Preferably, the stainless steel sheets are hermetically welded and sealed, with only one or two foaming plugs at a bottom of the face plate enabling access to the interior.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention, there is provided a drip edge structure formed at a top of the drawer face plate. The drip edge structure is integrally formed with a handle for the drawer.

In accordance with a concomitant feature of the invention, the gasket is formed of an extruded sealing strip. In a preferred embodiment, the recess and the gasket have a rectangular shape, with the gasket being formed from sections of the extruded sealing strip integrally connected at respective corners of the gasket.

The invention provides for a heavy duty drawer system with a drawer face that lends itself to superior sealing, yet provides for an easily cleaned and not easily soiled structure. The novel system is thus advantageous not only with regard to its sanitary qualities, but also with regard to energy consumption and environmental friendliness.

Various advantages and primary features of the novel drawer face sealing system may be summarized as follows:

-   -   Completely enclosed, no screws leaving voids, 100% sanitation     -   Foam-filled for excellent insulation behavior     -   The novel gasket system eliminates gasket repair labor; new         style gasket has been shown to exceed prior art systems in         performance, convenience, and in longevity     -   Drip edge on top drawer edge to retard fluids from entering         food/pan area.

Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a food drawer sealing and storage system, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.

The construction of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of the specific embodiment when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a top front axonometric view of an exemplary drawer face plate according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top rear axonometric view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view thereof;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view thereof;

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view thereof;

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view thereof;

FIG. 7 is a rear elevational view thereof;

FIG. 8 is a side rear perspective view thereof, with the drawer face seal removed;

FIG. 9 is a rear perspective view thereof, with the drawer face seal partly removed;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the drawer face seal;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the opposite side of the drawer face seal;

FIG. 12 is a rear axonometric view of an exemplary drawer face according to the invention;

FIG. 13 is a cross section taken through a seal track and a seal;

FIG. 13A is a cross section taken through an alternative seal; and

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the drawer face of FIG. 1 with a diagrammatic sealing face of a drawer cabinet and a partial view of a Lexan food tray.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the figures of the drawing in detail and first, particularly, to FIGS. 1 and 2 thereof, there is seen a food drawer face plate 1 or drawer front wall. The face plate 1 is formed of a main face plate body that is filled with a foamed material. The face plate 1 is illustrated without the main drawer frame, which would be attached to the face plate, typically by four or six bolt studs 13 (cf. FIG. 12). A handle rail 4, which also functions as a drip runoff edge, allows the drawer to be pulled out of the drawer cabinet. The drawer cabinet may typically hold two or three, or six, or even more, such drawers.

The drawer face plate 1, which is formed with a front wall 2 and a rear wall 3, and side walls integrally formed with the front and rear walls, is completely sealed against the intrusion of any type of organic matter. In a preferred embodiment, the entire structure is formed of stainless steel (food safety grade), with the exception of a sealing strip 6, to be described in the following.

The face plate 1 is provided with a drip rail edge 5 extending at the top edge along the entire drawer. Here, the handle rail 4 and the drip rail edge 5 are formed of a single steel sheet that is welded to the top of the face plate body 1. The drip rail edge 5 provides a considerable amount of protection against the intrusion of water and other washing fluids when the cabinet is being washed down, or even when any runoff, produced for example by condensation, occurs at the front of the drawer cabinet. The edge 5 may be provided with an additional sealing strip, for instance a silicone strip, that faces towards the cabinet or with a sealing edge which is placed on top of the drip rail edge 5 in the form of an inverted U.

The inner wall 3 of the face plate 1 is sealed against the drawer cabinet frame by way of a gasket 6 or seal strip 6.

The seal strip 6, in functional terms, is an O-ring which seals against a smooth wall on the drawer cabinet frame. The seal strip 6 engages in a circumferential recess formed in the inner wall 3, i.e., a circumferentially running track groove or race 7 in the inner wall 3 of the face plate 1. The gasket is continuous and uninterrupted. No voids or seams are formed. The seal strip 6 may be formed by injection molding (with gas assisted void creation) or by way of continuous extrusion or coextrusion. In the latter case, the continuous strip is cut into sections and the 45° edges are welded together with a 100% weld. For cleaning, the gasket can be pulled from the drawer cover body 1, wiped off or fully washed, the track groove 7 may be wiped, and the gasket 6 is then placed back in the track.

With reference to FIGS. 10, 13, and 13A, the seal strip 6 is formed with two flat wings 8. When the gasket is placed in the track groove 7, the wings 8 abut flat and in a sealing manner against the inner wall 3, just marginally outside the track groove 7. The seal strip, or gasket 6, may be formed with one or more a material voids 9 that assure its proper fit in the groove 7 and easy insertion into and/or removal from the groove 7. The gasket is formed of a soft rubber, silicone, or other soft sealing material and its dimensions (relative to the track groove and relative to the other structures) are configured to assure a proper seal.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, there are provided two foaming plugs 2 at the bottom edge of the face plate 1. As illustrated in FIG. 13, the plate 1 is filled with foam material or any other insulation material.

FIG. 14 illustrates the drawer face of FIG. 1 with a diagrammatic sealing face 15 of a drawer cabinet and a partial view of a Lexan food tray 14. The sealing face 15 illustrated here forms a part of a drawer cabinet, which is in essence a closed housing box that is hermetically sealed all around. The dimensions of the cutout in the cabinet face are such that the sealing gasket 6 of the drawer face 1 comes to lie on the flat peripheral surface surrounding the cutout when the drawer is closed. That is, when the drawer is closed and the drawer face 1 seals against the sealing face 15, the inside is hermetically closed off against the outside. In view of the fact that we deal here with a food drawer, there is also provided, typically in the rear, a chiller or cooler assembly to assure that the interior of the drawer cabinet is maintained at the proper temperature.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the following contains a list of exemplary parameters of the device.

-   -   The sub-frame, i.e., the welded and fully assembly unibody that         is inserted into the drawer cabinet or chiller has the following         features:     -   14 Gauge stainless steel, no loose parts magnetic drawer holding         supports. The magnet pull allows safe sealing when the drawer is         closed, yet allows for easy pulling of the drawer.     -   Drawer frame stiffeners set at full drawer extension     -   Slightly pitched, 18 degree drawer tracks for positive drawer         closure. The drawers, while not necessarily self-closing, can be         lightly tapped by the service personnel and the drawer will         automatically close until the magnet at the back of the drawer         engages

The drawer frame, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, has the following parameters:

-   -   14 gauge stainless steel for extended track life     -   12 gauge center bar and cross bar pan holders to fit old/new         Lexan and stainless steel pans making it difficult to break         welds     -   The tray cutouts assure that pans are kept in line and prevented         from slipping around inside the drawer     -   Angle going to drawer face prevents grunge build up between face         and frame     -   Stainless steel wheels and hardware threaded and nutted     -   Wheel supports used on subframe will prevent twisting and         excessive weight from bending and eventually breaking

The novel system presented herein provides for a variety of benefits. For example, the new storage system maintains excellent temperature conditions and thus results in the reduction of energy consumption and a cooler storage environment.

A further great advantage is the fact that maintenance and repair may be kept to a minimum, leading to the attendant cost reduction. 

1. A drawer sealing system, comprising: a drawer cabinet having a face formed with at least one drawer opening and a substantially flat wall surrounding said drawer opening; a drawer with a drawer face plate having a size sufficient to cover the entire said drawer opening in said face of said drawer cabinet and said flat wall surrounding said drawer opening, said drawer face plate having an inner wall facing towards said drawer cabinet; a circumferential recess formed in said inner wall of said drawer face plate; and a gasket formed for insertion into said recess in said inner wall and forming a circumferential sealing lip projecting from said inner wall, said recess and said gasket having an outline shape such that said sealing lip comes to lie on said flat wall surrounding said drawer opening when said drawer is closed and to form a closed face seal between said drawer face plate and said drawer cabinet.
 2. The drawer sealing system according to claim 1, wherein said recess formed in said inner wall of said drawer face plate is a continuous track groove with a substantially rectangular cross section.
 3. The drawer sealing system according to claim 2, wherein said gasket has an insertion base dimensioned for insertion into said track groove and a sealing lip projecting above a level of said inner wall of said drawer face plate.
 4. The drawer sealing system according to claim 3, wherein said gasket includes wings laterally adjoining said sealing lip and configured to abut flat and in a sealing manner against said inner wall of said drawer face plate, marginally outside said track groove.
 5. The drawer sealing system according to claim 1, wherein said drawer face plate is formed of stainless steel sheets and a foam-filled interior.
 6. The drawer sealing system according to claim 5, wherein said stainless steel sheets are hermetically welded and sealed, with only one or two foaming plugs at a bottom of said face plate enabling access to the interior.
 7. The drawer sealing system according to claim 5, which further comprises a drip edge structure formed at a top of said drawer face plate.
 8. The drawer sealing system according to claim 7, wherein said drip edge structure is integrally formed with a handle for the drawer.
 9. The drawer sealing system according to claim 1, wherein said gasket is formed of an extruded sealing strip.
 10. The drawer sealing system according to claim 9, wherein said recess and said gasket have a rectangular shape, with said gasket being formed from sections of said extruded sealing strip integrally connected at respective corners of said gasket. 